Dragon Ball Z: Meant to Be REDUX
by Nickyjoet
Summary: Not a sequel nor a continuation, but instead: a remake! After three years, Bulma sees Goku as an adult for the first time and has to deal with feelings that aren't shared while familiar events play out around them.
1. Chapter 1

Rain pelted the taxi in rolling waves, the windshield wipers screeching across the glass, pushing precipitation away to create a single second of clarity before rain shrouded the glass again. The cabby, a scruffy dog-man in his late thirties, pulled lightly on the cigarette sticking out from between his furry jowls. He steered the taxi boredly, his mind likely somewhere else with his body on autopilot, taking him through the busy streets of the Tournament Grounds of Papaya Island. The taxi bobbed over a pothole, eliciting an angry grunt from the blue-haired woman in the back.

She looked away from her compact mirror to the driver. She felt the smudge of makeup near her eye and it infuriated her. "Watch where you're going! You smudged my makeup!"

"Maybe you should have done your makeup before you got in, sister." The cabby said.

"Maybe if you paid as much attention to the road as you did on that cigarette, I wouldn't be shouting at you."

The dog-man ignored her and continued onward to their destination.

Beside her, the anthropomorphic cat and pig sat, looking up at her. The car seemed concerned, but the pig looked annoyed.

"Oh, Bulma, you can fix it, right?" the cat asked.

"Of course I can, it's just annoying," Bulma said, wiping the excess away before starting anew.

The woman, Bulma Briefs, had woke up late, rushed through a cold shower, dressed herself in a tight, blue, sleeveless dress that came down to her knees and barely had time to drink a coffee before just making it to the airport to catch her flight out of West City to Papaya Island. She had no time to put on makeup between a rushed morning and making sure Pu'ar, the cat, and Oolong, the pig, didn't bitch at each other. Doing her makeup in the cab had been her plan since her ass met the passenger seat of the plane. She hadn't seen Yamcha in three years, as he'd gone off training somewhere in preparation of the World Tournament, leaving her behind. Though incredibly pissed at him, she couldn't help but want to doll herself up for his arrival and remind just what he'd left behind when he went off training.

Putting the finishing touches to her face, Bulma traced her lips with ruby red lipstick and smacked her lips together and slipped the lipstick away, watching her reflection in the compact to look for any unwanted blemishes that she could do away with.

"Honestly, why do you even put that stuff on?" Oolong asked with an irritated glance her way.

"Even someone as good looking as me likes to enhance their features every so often," she said, smirking.

"Pathetic."

"Don't listen to him," Pu'ar said, looking up at Bulma with a wide smile, "I think you look lovely!"

"Thank you. At least someone understands!"

Content with her makeup job, she snapped the compact closed and readied her umbrella as the taxi pulled up to the curb outside the entrance to the World Tournament. She paid the driver and pulled open the door and stepped out, opening the umbrella in the same motion. With her two companions under the arcing umbrella with her, she stepped onto the curb to be greeted by two familiar faces.

"Look at how you've grown!" Master Roshi said, his long, bushy white beard and 'stache creased upward in a joyous smile, Launch, the dark blue-haired woman that could change personalities with a sneeze, stood by him.

"Yeah, yeah," Bulma said, glaring at the old man, "Just keep your dirty hands off of me." She came to expect the old man to try to get his hands on her, and always prepared to retaliate violently if need be. How Launch stomached living with the old man, Bulma would never know.

Before the old perv could reply, a friendly voice greeted them, and Bulma whipped around to see a tall young man wearing a deep blue robe, with a tightly wrapped turban around his head and an umbrella in one hand. His young eyes looked upon them all with familiarity, she noted, and yet she couldn't place him.

"He a friend of yours?" Roshi asked in a hushed tone.

Bulma merely shrugged, despite feeling like she had seen him before somewhere.

"Man, you all look great," the mysterious young man said.

Roshi's voice startled Bulma: "My boy, is that you?"

 _'_ _My boy'?_ Bulma thought, _does Roshi know him?_ But then it hit her. She knew him too. Her bright blue eyes widened with disbelief as she regarded the young man once more, "Goku?"

He quirked a brow at them, a mild look of irritation crossing his face and he said: "Yeah it's me! Don't tell me you guys can't recognize me because of this stuff on my head."

Bulma watched as the man who claimed to be Son Goku (little Son Goku, the boy who but three years ago had only come up to her waist) began to unravel the wrap on his head. Wild black hair began to poke out from the wrap until the unmistakable hair of Goku could be seen. Bulma couldn't believe her eyes.

Firstly, Goku was so tall, taller than her! Secondly, she realized he'd become a man during his three year absence! Finally, he was so incredibly handsome! His boyish features were all but gone. His rounded, cherubic cheeks had thinned out to form a more angular, stronger jaw. He stood before her, a foot and a half taller than her, his body looking a little firmer and more defined.

"There," Goku said with a smirk, "obvious now right?" he took another step toward her and the others, he peered down at her, "Did you guys shrink?"

Bulma laughed and said: "Idiot! You're huge!"

He grinned as he rubbed the top of his head sheepishly, "I guess I did grow a little bit…"

Goku had become quite the man, in a physical sense, at least; his mindset was still far too innocent to be mature. Bulma knew how shallow she was to be ogling her friend the way she was, but she couldn't help it. He'd become a piece of eye-candy! Dare she even say that he was hot?

Even when Yamcha showed up in the company of Krillin, Tien and Chaozu, she could hardly care about her plan to make her on-again off-again boyfriend regret leaving for so long. Her eyes always darted toward Goku, looking him up and down.

The loudspeakers all over the tournament grounds crackled: _"The World Martial Arts Tournament has been delayed until tomorrow due to the heavy rainfall. All combatants and guests are instructed to check into any of the grounds' many hotels where you will receive complimentary lodging for the night. However, rooms are limited, when we're booked, we're booked. We're sorry for any inconvenience."_

"Aw, man! I was really hoping t' fight!" Goku said.

Bulma looked to the others, "Anyone have a Capsule Car on them?"

Krillin snickered and smirked at her, "I thought, as the heiress to the Capsule Corp. throne, you would be the one carrying a Capsule Case."

"I didn't expect to need Capsules." She huffed at the short, bald man, crossing her arms over her chest.

Before she could get too upset at Krillin's comment, Roshi tossed a Capsule into the street where it erupted into a large puff of smoke, and from the smoke a small Capsule Car appeared.

"Everyone pile in," the Turtle Hermit said, "Those rooms'll fill up fast."

He slipped into the driver's seat, with Launch entering in on the driver's side. Oolong squeezed between them, wriggling a bit close to Launch.

Tien peered into the backseat of the car and shook his head, "Uh, I think Chaozu and I will just fly on over to a hotel. We'll meet up with you guys tomorrow," he said and without another word, he and Chaozu took to the sky.

Into the backseat went Yamcha, with Pu'ar eagerly plopping down into his lap. Krillin entered and squeezed close to Yamcha to make room for Goku and Bulma, but, as big as Goku had gotten, he took up the last bit of the backseat. He looked out of the car at Bulma, a sheepish grin on his face.

Bulma let out a rough sigh, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"Just sit in Goku's lap, or something," Yamcha said.

The woman felt her cheeks burning at the suggestion. Couldn't she just sit in Yamcha's lap? With closer inspection, she realized it was impossible, considering Pu'ar had claimed him. Stupid cat. With mild hesitation she climbed into the car and sat in Son Goku's lap, draping her arms around his neck to secure herself.

"You better hold onto me," Bulma told him, looking him directly in the eye, "if I go crashing through the windshield, I'm blaming you."

He laughed, "Don't worry. I got ya."

She looked over to see Yamcha giving her a weird look and she tried her best not to make her smirk obvious.

* * *

Rivulets of rain came down in endless waves over the window of Bulma's hotel room that she shared with Launch. Fresh from a shower, the other woman changed into her nightgown as the sun set behind the dark clouds that cast a heavy shadow over Papaya Island. The only light illuminating the streets were the streetlamps as well as the occasional bolt of lightning.

The rooms booked fast, and the gang had to bunk up. Yamcha offered to bunk with Bulma, but she denied him the privilege, offering instead to bunk with Launch so she didn't have to stay with the Turtle Hermit. Besides, she wanted to play with the ex-bandit's feelings; after all, that was her original plan. One might call her cruel, but the jerk deserved it after leaving her with no one for three years.

Her mind did not linger on Yamcha for too long, as the thought of the new, handsome adult Goku crept into her mind. In all seven years of being his friend, she never once thought that she'd ever look at him the way she did at the moment. The feeling dominated her mind, driving her thoughts into unexplored and awkward areas of her conscious. Her body went hot as she thought of her delicate hands gliding sensually over his thick, muscled arms. His imagined arms felt smoother than Yamcha's hard, dry skin that even years of living in the city couldn't fix. She imagined Goku's skin was smooth and yet tough, the kind of skin she'd love to feel agai—

"Are you okay, Bulma?" Launch asked, "Your breathing is awfully heavy."

Bulma turned and saw the other woman slipping into bed, her dark, innocent eyes on her. She blushed and raked a nervous hand up through her blue hair, "I… Yeah, I'm fine."

Launch smirked, "No, no, what is it?"

She laughed lightly and looked back out the window. Launch, as innocent as she was, was pretty perceptive. _What a time to find that out_ , Bulma thought. She focused back on the woman and curled her tongue up under her front teeth, trying to figure out how to articulate her thoughts. "Girl-to-girl, do you ever fantasize about someone you're not sure it's okay to fantasize about?"

The woman didn't respond right away, but, tucking her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her knees and smiled shyly. "Tien sometimes."

Hardly surprised by that, Bulma smiled knowingly. She was well aware that Launch's other, more deadly other half was helplessly in love with the brutal tri-clops. "He is pretty handsome; third eye and all."

Launch's smile sweetened, but spoke no more of Tien, instead she asked: "Who are you fantasizing about?"

Though she expected the question, Bulma still felt blindsided by it. "G-Goku."

"Really? He did grow up to be quite the stud, didn't he?"

Bulma laughed, "It caught me off guard! Last time I saw him he was a little shrimp, now he's, like, six feet tall and hot."

They both giggled, Launch placing a hand over her mouth and nose as she snorted, and Bulma just smiled wide. But it was short lived, fading away as her thoughts shifted some, and instead of keeping the thoughts to herself, she spoke them aloud to her audience: "Yamcha and I are practically over. He left to go train three years ago without my consent, and, truthfully?" she paused, "I expected to fall right back into his arms today, but only after teasing him, after showing him that I've become more of a woman over the last three years."

"But then you saw Son Goku, right?" Launch said with a grin.

"Yeah," Bulma nodded and lowered her gaze, "I saw Goku and thought 'wow, look at him all grown up, wouldn't it be nice if I could just drag my fingers over his body?'"

The other woman laughed empathetically, "That's not such a bad thing. It's something new and exciting."

"It is," she blew a big sigh and peered back up at Launch, "but he's an idiot. He saw my lipstick on the ride over here and asked if I was sick. This is the same guy who tugged my undies down while I was sleeping because he thought I'd lost my balls."

Launch laughed and covered her mouth, "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. He really did that?"

"Yeah, it's a long story," Bulma waved a hand dismissively, "but I really don't think he'd understand what it meant to be touched that way, to be touched intimately."

"Well, perhaps maybe it's about time somebody taught him what it means."

That caught Bulma by surprise, and she felt her mouth hanging open in near shock as she looked at the sincere smile that was being sent her way from the dark-haired woman in the bed. The thought of becoming romantically involved with Goku scared her a little, especially considering he likely couldn't grasp the basics of romance. It'd be hard to make him understand. Maybe she ought to try?

Launch yawned and lay back, curling onto her side, "Just think about it, Bulma, and turn out the light before you go to bed."

"I will," she said and turned her gaze back out the window, noticing the rain had ceased. _If I'm really going to do this, I'm going to need to prepare how I'm going to explain it to him_.

* * *

Apparently, Goku had risen early and had gone down to the preliminary rings, eager to get things started, so Bulma figured she would wait until after the tournament to speak to him. But in the first round, Goku came up against a mystery fighter, a girl, a cute girl who looked to be about his age. She claimed to know him and claimed that he had agreed to marry her. Bulma figured the chick was nuts, especially considering Goku's ignorance to romance. If he had agreed to marry anyone, he likely would have done it without knowing what it was. But to her surprise (and horror), he remembered the proposal and it was revealed the girl was Chi-Chi, daughter of the Ox King. Innocent Goku, poor, sweet, dumb, idiotic, innocent Goku proposed marriage on the stage, saying: "Since I made a promise, we better get married."

She had little time to dwell on the fact the guy she was crushing on was getting married, as the matches following kept her distracted, especially when the mysterious Majunior turned out to be the son of the Demon King Piccolo and destroyed the ring in a longwinded fight that ended with Goku's victory. And at the end of the tournament, Goku went off with Chi-Chi to go get married, and Bulma went home alone.

Capsule Corp. felt empty, despite it crawling with employees. They hardly mattered, their greetings went unheard as she dwelled on the crush that was now eating her alive from the inside. She missed her chance, and now the dumb idiot was going to get married and live with this woman he won't know how to love.

She found her room, entered, closed the door and slumped onto her bed. She peered over at her nightstand and saw the picture frame she'd put there six years ago after the tournament before last. The picture was of her, little Krillin and little Goku, with Master Roshi just off frame. The three of them were all making faces.

Bulma's lip trembled and she reached for the frame and slapped it face down on the nightstand. She took in a sharp breath and narrowly avoided crying. Why should she cry? She didn't lose anything. You can't lose things you never had. But the pressure to cry remained as she plopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She took little comfort in the fact that she'd eventually get over this crush. Part of her didn't want to get over it. She wanted to see if she could somehow get Goku to want desire things he'd never thought about before. The thought excited her, but it was immediately replaced with a painful, nauseating knot in her stomach when she reminded herself that Goku was somebody elses.

"Damn it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** So, hello again, I sorta meant to do this in the first chapter, but I figured chapter 2 would be a good spot as well. I just wanna say thank you to everyone who has been reading my stuff, I always appreciate seeing new readers finding my fics and I do read every review. I just want to reiterate that I will not be continuing the original "Meant to Be" story for a variety of reasons, the main one being that the story is, like, seven years old now and I'm a different person than I was then.

This story isn't meant to replace the old story, that one still exists, it's still available to read. This story is just something personal to me, in a way. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy chapter 2 of "Dragon Ball Z: Meant to Be REDUX".

2

Time heals all wounds, as they say, and five years is a substantial amount of time to heal. Bulma Briefs knew that, as her feelings of dread after Goku's engagement had disappeared. She cared little, if not at all, about Goku's marriage. Her crush had been nothing more than that: a crush. Yamcha ended up back in her life for a little while, only to leave again, but this time not to train. No, no, he had found himself an easy little tramp on the south side of the city and upon admitting he had an affair, Bulma tossed him out of Capsule Corp. and he ran off. Last she heard he was playing professional baseball for the West City Taitans.

She'd grown up even more, finding a place as an engineer on her father's payroll, helping develop new tech and new devices for the array of Capsule Corp. branded gadgets. It was her passion, and she fell into the groove of things rather quickly, knowing her way around most anything in her father's workshop. Though other employees complained about nepotism, she knew better. She was the best engineer in the company, rivaling her own father, the inventor of the Hoi-Poi Capsule, so she had earned her place in the company, despite being born with that silver spoon in her mouth.

An invitation had come in from the Kame House, written by the Turtle Hermit himself, inviting her over to his island where they were going to have a small reunion. She was asked to extend the invitation to Yamcha, but Bulma ignored that bit. It'd been five years since she last saw any of them and she wondered what they were all up to. She figured, given their lifestyles, that they were all doing the exact same thing they always did: train and fight. She was particularly interested to see how Launch was doing since their talk at the last World Tournament, as she hadn't seen or heard from her at all. It wasn't too shocking, though, considering she hadn't kept up with any of her friends.

Bulma wondered about Goku. She wondered if he'd bring Chi-Chi along. She amused herself with the thought that they could have gotten a divorce. _"He doesn't even know what sex is!"_ she imagined Chi-Chi saying to the judge. Poor Goku. She doubted anything like that would have happened. Chi-Chi seemed like the kind of person to want to make her relationship work no matter what. After all, she did spend most of her life clinging to a promise Goku made when he was twelve.

Sighing, Bulma leaned back in the desk chair in her room, resting her arms behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling. Five years. So much could have changed in five years, but it didn't feel like such a long time. She'd be happy to see everyone again—so long as they didn't find Yamcha—and knew that everyone would be happy to see her, but couldn't shake the slight nervousness of seeing Goku again. Would those old feelings bubble up again when she saw him with Chi-Chi? She let out another sigh and leaned forward, grabbed the invitation and tossed it haphazardly to the side, letting it zigzag wildly through the air before landing noiselessly to the floor. Bulma folded her arms over her desk and buried her face against them in frustration.

The door opened minutes later, the unmistakable shuffle of her father's footsteps following, getting closer. It paused once, he grunted, and the shuffling continued until he was at her desk. He set something down and when Bulma finally lifted her gaze to him, she noticed a steaming coffee mug on the desk next to her and then noticed her father standing there, cigarette poking out from beneath his bushy moustache as he stared down at the invitation he had picked up on the way over to her.

"A reunion, eh?" he asked, his graying, violet eyebrows lifting inquisitively, "At the Kame House? The Turtle Hermit's place! You know, I've never met him. Come to think of it, I've never met any of your friends except for Yamcha and that Goku kid."

"Well, you know, they're not really the kind of people you want to bring home to your billionaire father," Bulma said with a laugh.

"And yet you brought Yamcha home. Didn't you say he used to be a bandit out in the desert?"

" _Used to be_ is the key phrase here. He's not anymore."

"Is that why I found him in my lab poking his nose in my Capsules?" Dr. Briefs asked with a smirk.

"He was probably just- What're you doing in here, anyway?" she sat up straight and sent her father an annoyed look.

He gestured to the steaming mug on the desk, "Thought my little girl could use some coffee. But I think perhaps she needs a fatherly talk," he fanned the air with the invitation, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just…" she didn't know what to say. She couldn't think up a lie quick enough.

"Nothing? So you just tossed the invitation your friends sent you to the ground for no reason?"

"Must've got blown off the desk, I don't know."

"I see…" Mr. Briefs pulled lightly from his cigarette and plucked it from his lips and exhaled a plume of smoke. He set the invitation down on her desk next to the mug. "You're going, right?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen them since the Tournament," she said and looked at the invitation. She would never miss a chance to see them again, and with the cancellation of the World Tournament after the destruction of the grounds, she had figured it'd be forever before they reunited.

"That's good. Maybe you should take a few days of paid vacation. I'm sure you'll want to stay and chat with everyone."

"Thanks, dad."

"You're welcome," he said and turned to shuffle out of the room, but he looked back over his shoulder, placing the cigarette back between his lips, "Also, sweetie, whatever is bugging you… It'll be okay." With that, he shuffled off.

* * *

The single passenger Capsule plane steered easily through the sky, with wind blowing through the open sides of the cockpit. The harness held Bulma firmly in place as she rocked the controls, careening through the skies of the south sea, heading toward the small island that Master Roshi called home.

She peered over at the compartment where she'd hidden the box of sweets and let out a soft sigh. She thought it a good idea to bring a single box until she was on her way, remembering the fact that Goku could eat enough food to feed an army and still not be full. With her salary she probably could have bought out the store, but it would have been rude to deprive others of a delicacy so that one man could eat his fill. He'd just have to learn not to be a pig and let others have some.

The island came into view shortly and she landed the plane easily on the sand. She pulled the box from the compartment and hid it behind her back as she left the vehicle and headed to the door.

"Hey, anyone home?" she asked, a smile on her face as she pried the door open and stepped inside, offering a wave with her free hand to those inside.

Master Roshi, Krillin and Turtle all sat inside, and all turned their heads to see Bulma. Roshi, smiling wide, stood and set his mug of half drunk beer on the table before starting over to her.

"Kind of cold, aren't you? You don't ever come over unless asked," the Turtle Hermit said.

Bulma chuckled. "I'm here now, aren't I?" she asked and brought the box out from behind her back to offer to the old man, "Plus, I brought some manjū buns! Enjoy!"

Krillin's head cocked, looking past Bulma at the door, "Where's Yamcha?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "That jerk? I don't care where he is after what he did. And neither should you." Upon seeing the looks her friends gave her, Bulma sighed and changed the subject: "Where's Launch?"

"She went chasing after Tien after the Tournament five years ago," the short, bald man said, "haven't seen her since."

It seemed their talk five years ago inspired Launch to go chasing after her own crush as well, but at least she had been given the chance.

Bulma didn't have much time to respond as a familiar voice that excited her and filled her with dread greeted them from outside.

"Hey guys!" Goku said happily.

Krillin was the first out the door, followed shortly by Bulma and the other two, and when they saw Goku, he wasn't alone. He was carrying a kid.

"You start babysitting, or something?" Krillin asked.

"What? No, this is my kid."

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Goku, but Bulma blurted: "Your kid, As in _yours_?"

"Yeah, is that bad?" he asked as he set his son down, "say 'hi', kiddo."

The boy, who couldn't have been more than four years old, wore a traditional child's gown and hat, and atop his hat sat an orange crystal ball. He greeted them all shyly with a wave, and Bulma could hardly register the fact that it _was_ Goku's son. Innocent Goku had done what she had deemed impossible by creating a baby with Chi-Chi, whom was thankfully absent. She noticed the boy looking up at her expectantly.

"Oh, hello…" she smiled at him, though still in shock.

"His name is Gohan," Goku said, hands on his hips, a prideful smile on his lips.

"Ah, so you named him after your late grandfather, then?" Roshi asked and then said what everyone else was thinking: "Still, though, _you_ , Son Goku, with a child."

Bulma crouched to be at eye-level with Gohan and smiled at him, "Hey, Gohan, how old are you?"

The kid was quick to lift four fingers, "This many."

"Four?" she smirked and stood up, _what did he do, knock her up during their honeymoon?_ She felt bad for the sassy thought, considering the boy was looking up at her innocently. The crystal ball atop his hat caught her eye, though, when she noticed the four red stars floating within.

"Is that the four-star ball on his hat?" she asked Goku.

He looked down at it and nodded, "Yeah! I found it a year or so ago and put it on there. I figured since we went ahead and named the kid after him, we might as well give him something of grampa's." He patted the top of his son's head and looked at Bulma, "I actually found the three and six-star balls too. They're lying around at home somewhere."

"Wow," Bulma said breathlessly, "Dragon balls, huh? That sure does bring back memories."

For a moment, they were the only two in the world, each of them staring at one another. The journey for the dragon balls started twelve years ago with just the two of them; a young girl who just wanted the perfect boyfriend and a boy who was ignorant to the world around him. They had come quite a long way, she figured, after all, Goku was married and had a kid, and she was on her way to taking over her father's business.

For a moment, she thought she saw something in Goku's eyes as he looked at her, but she could have just been projecting her own feelings on him as they bubbled back up and took over her brain.

Goku's eyes tore away from hers and he looked to the sky.

What followed was a blur of world changing information and anxiety.

A man from the sky, wearing strange armor landed on the beach. He kept calling Goku "Kakarrot", claiming he was a saiyan and that he was Goku's brother. They were both aliens from a planet long destroyed, and Goku was sent twenty four years ago to annihilate the population of earth. The mystery of Goku's tail, the reason why he turned into a giant ape during the full moon, it was all answered.

The man, Raditz, Goku's brother, took Gohan hostage, threatening to kill him if Goku didn't kill one-hundred humans by the next day. Before Bulma and the others could even begin to process what they'd just overheard, Piccolo showed up and offered to help Goku take down Raditz.

When next Bulma saw Goku, he lay on his back with a hole straight through his body. She held his unconscious son and watched her oldest friend die. Everything that she had heard, everything that had just come to light weighed heavily on her, and she could barely process the fact that Goku had just died. Then he disappeared, supposedly taken by Kami. Piccolo took Gohan from Bulma, said he would train the boy, and took off.

Shaken, Bulma loaded up her Capsule plane with Krillin and Master Roshi and flew back to Kame House in silence. Someone was going to have to tell Chi-Chi what had happened. She thought about sending Krillin, but she figured she should go. _At the very least_ , she thought, _I will have a project to focus on when I get back_. She looked over at the strange device that had been on Raditz's face. Piccolo had said it was used to locate energy, so she figured if she could recalibrate it to their numerical system she might have a way of finding the others to help battle the other saiyans who would come in a year's time.

She had _a lot_ to do.


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Are you sure about this?" Krillin asked, leaning against the entrance to Kame House, "I could go."

"No," Bulma said, pulling her jacket tightly about her. She stood out in the sand, ready to leave at any moment, "I mean, no offense, but I have a feeling you'll just stumble over your words."

"Gee, thanks," he said and rolled his eyes. He pushed off the doorway and went down the steps to the sand to approach her, "What're you gonna say to her?"

"I'm just going to be direct. Why should I beat around the bush, you know?"

"So you're just gonna walk in and say 'hey, Chi-Chi, I barely know you, but I just thought I'd stop by to let you know that your husband is dead and Piccolo kidnapped your son'?"

"Not so direct, but yeah, essentially."

"What about the fact that he's an alien?"

Bulma winced at that. In all the excitement and anxiety of the happenings of the day, she'd forgotten that Goku was actually an alien from some distant planet. He'd been sent to earth to destroy its people, to prep it for selling. As powerful as he was now, she wondered what the world would look like now if his brain damage had been reversed. What would he be like? She shook her head, dismissing the thought. It didn't matter.

"I'm gonna have to let her know," she said, "It wouldn't be right to leave her in the dark until he gets back. Besides, there's no guarantee that we'll still be here in a year's time."

Krillin sighed heavily, "Aw, man, don't say things like that. We're gonna bring Goku back and he'll be here to fight with us. Those other saiyans won't stand a chance!"

"How can you be so sure? Goku and Piccolo, together, couldn't beat this one without resorting to some suicidal tactic."

"Come on, you know how Goku is. He'll figure something out like he always does."

"I hope you're right," Bulma sent a weak smile the short man's way.

She took a short breath and looked to her plane, "Okay, it's time to leave."

"Good luck, remember to tell her we're bringing him back."

She nodded and went to her plane. She fastened herself in, waved to Krillin, and then took off, taking to the sky to head off to Goku's place.

* * *

The Mount Paozu region brought back a flood of memories. Twelve years ago, she'd been traveling through the jungles below, two dragon balls already in her possession. She encountered Goku, who was in possession of the third dragon ball she would need, and the rest was history. She wasn't all too surprised Goku had moved back out here with Chi-Chi and had even built a new house near the old hut he used to stay in. She only wished her visit were under more casual circumstances. She might have been happy to stay and have tea, talking about old times, but she had to do what she had to do.

She brought the plane down outside Goku's house, but glanced over at the small hut nearby, unable to help the small smile crossing her lips. She left her plane and went straight to the front door of her friend's house. Nervousness crept over her and she nearly stepped away from the door. Did she _have_ to tell her? Maybe Chi-Chi already knew! After all, Bulma wasn't married; perhaps when you get married you can just sort of _know_ these things. That was stupid. She was smarter than to have a childish thought like that.

With a sigh, she lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles on the door and waited.

"Coming, coming!" said the voice of a woman from inside, and moments later, the door opened to reveal Chi-Chi, her hair up in a bun, a different look than the one she sported five years ago, "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Bulma, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," she said and reached a hand up to run through her hair nervously.

"Please, come in, I was just about to make tea," Chi-Chi smiled and left the door open and went back inside.

Bulma followed after, shutting the door behind her gently and took a slight look around. The house was well decorated, and Bulma assumed Chi-Chi was the party responsible for that. It seemed like a comfortable country home. She entered the kitchen and sat down on the cushioned bench near the stove where Chi-Chi prepared the teapot.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what brings you here? Weren't you and Goku and the others having a reunion or something?" the woman asked as she got the fire going under the pot.

"Yeah," Bulma said slowly, "that's what I came here to talk to you about, you see-"

Chi-Chi interrupted with a loud sigh and looked at Bulma, "He's going to be home late, isn't he?"

"I guess you could say that, but-"

"Seriously, that man! All he does is train and eat, the least he can do is tell me himself that he's gonna be home late. Not that I don't appreciate you comin' over here to tell me, but still."

Bulma felt her face twisting in near revolt. How full of herself was she? She wasn't letting Bulma explain, coming to her own conclusions. Perhaps she already knew, like she had surmised at the door, but dismissed the silly thought again. Of course she didn't know.

"I told him that Gohan needed to be back home early, he needs to study if he's going to get into a good school. Goku can be so irresponsible. I mean, really, after all I do for him and he can't even-"

"Goku is dead!" Bulma blurted, her eyes shut tight as she dropped her gaze.

Chi-Chi went silent, when she spoke again, her voice quivered, "He's dead? How? Where's Gohan?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure you have time to tell it. Tell me what happened to my husband and my son!"

Bulma sighed and lifted her gaze up to Chi-Chi. She stood, supporting herself against the counter, her eyes glossy with tears, and her skin pale. It was obvious she didn't know what to think. Bulma cleared her throat, "Well, earlier today this strange man showed up claiming to be from another planet far away and-"

"Another planet? Do you expect me to believe that?"

Bulma winced, an angry lump forming in her throat. She swallowed it down and exhaled through her nose, "No, because we didn't either, but it's true. He had a tail, like Goku used to have. He claimed that Goku was his brother, that they're aliens."

Chi-Chi grew paler somehow and she struggled to stay standing, so she stumbled over to sit by Bulma on the bench and put a hand on her forehead, "An alien? Goku is an alien? I guess it makes sense, but… I never would have thought."

"This man, this _saiyan_ , took Gohan and said that if Goku didn't do what he said, he'd, uh… Well, he'd do some bad stuff and he wouldn't see his son again."

"Goku didn't stop him?"

Bulma nodded, "He did, with the help of Piccolo, but only at the cost of his life."

"He died protecting Gohan? Where is Gohan?"

"Piccolo took him."

Chi-Chi grabbed Bulma by the shoulders and pulled her close, her eyes were hysterical, her lip trembled, "And nobody stopped him? Why did Piccolo take my son?"

"T-to train him!" Bulma said, too afraid to even try to break Chi-Chi's grasp, "He said two saiyans would be coming in a year's time and that the power inside of Gohan was the key to stopping them!"

The other woman stared, as pale as a ghost, her grip on Bulma loosened and her eyes lulled back and shut as she collapsed forward. Bulma held her and sighed. She got up cautiously and lowered Chi-Chi onto the bench. She went to the counter, her arms trembling as she leaned over it heavily. A wave of emotion hit her like a truck and she began to sob.

What the hell was she thinking to come over here and break the news like this? She hadn't even given herself time to accept the events of that day, and she had just broken the news to Chi-Chi carelessly. Part of her knew it was some sort of revenge for taking Goku right at the same moment she was going to try to start something with him, she knew that wholeheartedly, and no amount of excuse making could change that. But that vengeance-minded girl just got a dose of reality when Chi-Chi broke down and went unconscious.

Bulma wiped away her tears as the teakettle screamed and she turned off the fire. Goku's wife remained unconscious, so Bulma, hands shaking, prepared her own cup of tea. She leaned back against the counter and stared into the cup of browning water, watching the tea leaves dance around in the cup before settling at the bottom. She sipped the tea and sighed. She might as well get comfortable and wait for Chi-Chi to wake.

* * *

Hours later, Bulma sat beside the unconscious Chi-Chi and was half asleep herself. When the woman finally stirred, she watched as she got up with a panicked start. Her dark eyes fell upon Bulma and she frowned.

"I was hoping it had all been a dream," she said in a hushed tone.

"Me too," Bulma said, putting on a sad smile, "I know it's not much comfort, but we are going to bring Goku back with the dragon balls."

"I'm not so worried about that, I know the stories about the dragon balls. I'm sick over my son being in the hands of that monster and the fact that he's going to be made to fight even stronger monsters. I just-" she gagged and covered her mouth.

Bulma frowned and looked around for a wastebasket. She found one near the fridge and retrieved it and brought it over to Chi-Chi who thanked her.

"I thought the worst was over with when Goku beat Piccolo at the tournament and I thought Piccolo was the worst we'd ever see."

"I think we all wish that was true, this is all so much to take in."

"I'm sorry about earlier, Bulma, I shouldn't blame you, you did the right thing. I just hope you understand what's going through my mind right now."

"I do, I understand. I can't even imagine what's going through your head."

Chi-Chi managed to smile, "None of it's good, that's for sure."

"I know this isn't going to be much comfort, but Piccolo is strong and I'm sure he'll make Gohan strong too, maybe even stronger than him. Gohan will be back to you a year from now, victorious at Goku's side."

"You're right," Chi-Chi laughed, "that wasn't very comforting."

Bulma's cheeks went hot with embarrassment, but managed to laugh. "Sorry. I'm just a little too used to this, I guess.

"Look, if you ever need anything over the next year, please stop by Capsule Corp. and we'll do whatever we can."

"Thank you, that really does mean a lot to me."

"I would stay longer, but I really should go. I got something to work on, and I should probably start looking for the dragon balls."

"There are two here, I think Goku keeps 'em in the trunk at the end of our bed, you're welcome to 'em, of course."

"Thank you," Bulma said with a smile. She patted Chi-Chi's shoulder and stood up to go grab the balls.

While in Goku's bedroom, she noticed some pictures on the wall, most of them were of Goku and Chi-Chi's wedding day, and one was of a baby Gohan. One picture on the nightstand caught Bulma's eye, though. It was the same one she had in her room, with Goku, Krillin and herself making faces at the camera, with Master Roshi behind them, barely in frame. She let out an emotional little hiccup. He had kept it. She had given that to him years ago and he had kept it. She half expected it to be forgotten and set aside somewhere.

With renewed spirit, she rummaged through the trunk Chi-Chi had mentioned and found the two balls she was after. With a quick goodbye to Chi-Chi, Bulma left.

* * *

Back at Kame House, well into the night, Bulma remained the only one awake. She made a spot for herself at the low table at the TV. She had the TV on, using its light to examine the strange device taken from Raditz's face.

The main piece of the device was rounded, with a cushioned lining that fit over the wearer's ear. A speaker was inlaid into the piece, for communication purposes, she surmised. The other part was a curved, flat piece of green glass that extended outward in front of the wearer's left eye. It acted as a display, and whenever she pressed the plethora of buttons on the panel of the outer earpiece, yellow symbols appeared. With a little tweaking, she figured she could get it to read in their own numerals, allowing her to find Tien and Chaozu, even Yamcha. With her tool kit at the ready, Bulma began to take the device apart carefully.


	4. Chapter 4

4

A year can go by pretty quickly as you get older, that's just a fact of life, but a year can go by in an instant when you know something bad is going to happen at the end of it. The arrival of the saiyans came faster than anyone would have thought, especially to Bulma. As soon as every news station began airing the crash landing of two strange pods in East City and the destruction of said city, Bulma fastened the repurposed energy-reading device to her face and found the readings of two beings in the direction of the former East City. The power readings made the hair on her neck stand up on end. Four-thousand and eighteen-thousand were their powers respectively. She only hoped that when Goku arrived, his own power would match.

Bulma kept track of the fight from the living room of the Kame house, surrounded by her friends, as well as Chi-Chi and her father, the Ox King. Three of the fighters were killed quickly, their power levels dropping to zero. A little while later, another one dropped to zero. Two were left. Hope seemed lost until a power level of five-thousand appeared and raced toward the others. It was Goku, Bulma knew it was Goku. But his power level was so low compared to one of the saiyans, even if he beat the one with four-thousand, he still had one with eighteen-thousand to deal with.

Goku's power level increased to over eight-thousand and shortly after, the one with four-thousand was killed. Bulma clasped her hands together, praying to whoever would listen, just hoping for a miracle. Goku had no hope of beating the remaining saiyan, not with a power level that was ten-thousand less than his opponent. But then Goku's energy spiked, it increased dramatically, the numbers cycling upwards into the ten-thousands and into the twenty-thousands until the device overheated and blew apart on Bulma's face. It stung, but the damage was little.

"What happened?" Roshi asked, coming up to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Goku's power," she said, "it shot way up."

"My lord, we have to get out there!"

"But how? The power-finder broke. I have a general direction, but not an exact location."

"We'll go get Korin, he can see these things."

Bulma nodded and rummaged through her Capsule Case, finding a large capsule that housed a large plane that could fit the whole group. Once released from the capsule, everyone piled in and Bulma took to the pilot's chair. The vehicle lifted off of the sand and she steered it toward Korin's tower to the west.

* * *

"Just a little to the left, a few miles ahead," said Korin, the old cat master who had trained both Goku and Roshi.

"I can feel four faint powers as we get closer," Roshi said, gripping his wooden staff tightly, "What's happened?"

"Four powers?" Chi-Chi asked, "You mean the saiyan is probably still alive?"

"He must be very badly hurt," Korin said, holding his own staff close.

Minutes passed, and eventually Bulma could see a few figures among the broken rocks and debris below, the setting sun barely illuminating them. She brought the plane down and no sooner that she opened the hatch to let everyone out did Chi-Chi spring from her seat and launched herself out of the plane, screaming for "her baby."

Bulma went out after her, with Roshi following behind. She saw Krillin, bloody and bruised, flabbergasted as Chi-Chi tore a naked Gohan from his arms. Then she saw Goku, lying on the ground, bloody and broken, his legs misshapen and weird. She was quick to go to him, dropping to her knees at his side, looking him over.

"Oh, Goku, look at you. Are you okay?"

Despite being literally broken, he smiled at her, "Yeah, I'll be all right."

"I bet you guys really gave it to those saiyans, huh?"

He managed to laugh lightly, but he frowned, "I, uh, I let one get away."

"You… You what?" Bulma asked. She also recalled that he had let Piccolo get away six years ago. "This isn't going to be a habit with you, is it?"

"No, I just… I know it's stupid, but I want to fight him again. I want to beat him with my own power."

Bulma sighed and shook her head. Goku _was_ stupid, but she always had faith that he would pull through in the end. If he was confident he could beat this saiyan next time on his own, she'd accept that. He saved the world a few times already and she doubted he'd let the world down anytime soon.

Goku was helped onto the plane, and the news that Piccolo had died protecting Gohan hung heavy in the air on the plane ride back. That meant the dragon balls were gone, and it left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of everyone present to know that it was a self sacrifice by their former enemy to save the son of his father's killer. Yamcha, Tien and Chaozu were also dead, the only survivors being Goku, Krillin, Gohan and Yajirobe, who all played a hand in the defeat of the saiyan, Vegeta.

Before the flight continued on, Krillin had them land to pick up the bodies of their fallen friends. When asked where Chaozu's body was, he just shook his head. They put the bodies in the cargo hold away from the passenger area. For the rest of the ride, Bulma had Roshi pilot the plane, and she went back to Goku, since Chi-Chi seemed more occupied with Gohan at the moment.

Goku lay on a mat behind the last row of chairs at the back of the plane, so Bulma sat by him and smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. He winced and she took her hand away.

"Sorry," she said and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees as she looked down at him.

Goku shook his head, "It's fine, I'm just sore all over."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so beat up before, not even against Demon King Piccolo all those years ago."

"Yeah, Vegeta really did a number on me," Goku laughed and groaned, wincing in pain. "He's a whole other world of strong. I'm gonna train and I'm gonna beat him."

"Isn't this a big risk, though? Won't he just come back and destroy the earth and get the job done all at once?"

"I don't think so," he said, "I'm a saiyan like him, right? My brother said that saiyans live for battle. So if I want to fight him as badly as I do now, I'm sure he's out there thinking the same thing."

Bulma let out a sigh, "We can't wish you back with the dragon balls anymore. If Vegeta beats you, he'll come after the rest of us."

"Actually, Bulma," Krillin said, peering over the back of the chair at her, "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. When Vegeta and the other guy saw Piccolo, they called him a, uh, a namekian."

"Piccolo was an alien too?" Bulma asked, looking up at her bald friend.

"Yeah. They said something like 'he must be the one who made the dragon balls. If we don't get them here, we can probably just go to planet Namek to get them.'"

She went silent. If that was true, then…

"If we could get to Namek, we might find dragon balls there."

The others cheered in excitement, but Bulma was silent. Another planet? That was their only hope? It was an impossible dream to chase.

"We don't even know where planet Namek is, guys!" Bulma all but shouted, getting to her knees to look over the chair at everyone.

The plane fell silent and a deflated Krillin sighed, slumping back in the seat. Bulma felt bad for bringing the mood down, but everyone needed a dose of reality and grasping at straws was unhealthy.

"I can find out," Goku said, breaking the silence. "King Kai, you've been listening, right? Do you know where Namek is?"

A disembodied voice entered the plane, speaking to all: _"Of course I know where planet namek is. Wouldn't be much of a Kai if I didn't know where my worlds were._

 _"First, let me just say I'm incredibly impressed with all of you. As soon as Goku went down, I expected it was all over, but you all managed to pull through!"_

"He was a lot stronger than I expected. Not even the Kaio-Ken did much against him," Goku said.

 _"I miscalculated his power, I'm sorry for that. But as for Namek's location…"_

King Kai went on to give the planet's coordinates, which Bulma was quick to jot down. She got up and did some calculations. Namek was far, far away. The fastest spaceship in the world, built by Bulma's father, would make the trip… In over four-thousand years. The dream was still so far away, until Krillin mentioned he'd taken a controller that Vegeta had dropped, and mentioned that the pod that he had escaped in seemed to be built for only one passenger, which meant that his dead partner's pod must still be around. Hope. They had a real, viable hope.

* * *

The hospital smelled like disinfectant, a strong scent that hugged the noses of everyone in the building, letting them know the hospital was sparkling clean. It was the largest hospital in West City, with the best doctors in the world, funded graciously by Capsule Corp. The halls were kept dim as nurses sat at their stations and doctors poked their heads into rooms to check on their sleeping patients.

It was past visiting hours, but a reminder that Bulma's family kept the hospital afloat had the faculty looking the other way. She sat curled up in a chair next to the cocoon-looking bed used for patients in critical condition. Goku lay within it, wrapped from head to toe in casts and bandages, looking like he walked off the set of a mummy movie. IV's pumped fluid into his veins, keeping him stable and hydrated, and occasionally it would pump a dose of morphine into his body, keeping his pain at bay.

Korin said he had let the senzu plant go, considering that there have been many years of peace, but he said he'd get right to growing some more and that it shouldn't take too long. Bulma hoped for that, seeing Goku in an ICU hospital bed was a little more than unnerving.

Goku stirred, letting out a groan of pain. His eyes opened weakly and he turned his head to see Bulma. She had been staring at him.

"Bulma," he said in a hushed tone, "What're you doing here? Where's everyone else?"

"Nearby," she said, "Gohan and Krillin are downstairs being treated. Looks like they'll get to go home in a few days."

"Lucky them," he laughed and then winced, "Did the doctor say how long I'd have to be here?"

"Four months," she curled up a bit tighter, meeting his eyes. She felt the frown forming on her lips when she saw his disappointed reaction. "Luckily, Korin says he's gonna have some senzu growing a month from now, so you'll be all set."

"That's good news, at least."

Goku forced a smile, but he winced again and shifted. Bulma recognized that he was in pain and pressed a button on his infusion pump, sending a good dose of morphine up through the tube and into his veins. He seemed to calm immediately, relaxing with a soft sigh.

"Mmm, what is that? That feels nice."

"It's pain medicine. It works good, right?"

"Yeah. Almost like a senzu, but I'm pretty sure my body is still broken."

"You are correct," Bulma giggled and just looked at him. She sighed, "I hate seeing you like this."

"Do I look bad?"

"Well, you're laying in a bed in the intensive care unit of the West City hospital, dressed up in bandages, broken from head to toe."

"That is pretty bad, I guess," Goku said and let out a seemingly content sigh as he closed his eyes. "I'm kinda tired. You should go home and get some sleep too."

"Nah, I'm gonna stick around," she said, gesturing to the blanket folded neatly over the back of her chair, "if I get tired I'll just wrap up in this and sleep in here."

"Mmmalright," Goku muttered and drifted right to sleep.

Bulma sighed and grabbed the blanket, pulling it around her. Why was she even doing this? Goku didn't care that she was staying there at his side. He didn't care that she started to ache for him. The only thing going through his mind, she assumed, was getting out of the hospital so he could train and fight Vegeta again, he wasn't thinking about her. Staying here next to him while he recovered in a hospital bed was a meaningless gesture to him.

She let out a soft, sad laugh, reaching a hand up from under the blanket to thumb fresh tears from her eyes. How pathetic was she?

Snuggling into the chair, pushing her troubling thoughts aside, she closed her eyes and allowed herself some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

5

The saiyan space pod Bulma planned to use for the trip to namek ended up accidentally exploding at the wrong press of a button. Oops. Luckily, Mr. Popo, Kami's assistant, mentioned that there was another spaceship Bulma could repurpose: Kami's ship from when he was just a boy. She went with him to Yunzabit Highlands where the four-legged vessel rest, covered with moss. It was controlled through voice commands in namekian, a language Popo was fluent in, having learned it from Kami. He and Bulma took a trip to Jupiter and back. It would work.

She went back to the hospital and told everyone that the new ship would work, and by her own calculations, it would take them one month to get to namek. Her first choice would have been to take Goku along with her, but settled for Krillin and Gohan, the latter of whom wanted to go simply to bring Piccolo back from the dead. It also took an uncomfortable argument between Gohan and Chi-Chi to convince her to let him go, but she caved.

The following year was hectic.

The month long trip to Namek was uneventful and boring, with Bulma spending most of her time lounging around the ship in her underwear reading a plethora of novels, while Krillin and Gohan did something they called "image training."

As soon as they arrived on the planet, they were met by hostiles, as well as a familiar pod landing a little too near for comfort. Bulma spent the next week in and out of hiding, left by herself mostly, living off of microwave dinners, having a frightening encounter with Vegeta and some hot alien guy who turned into a not-so-hot monster that the saiyan killed. He took their dragon balls and… It was just a mess!

The only moment of peace she had was when Krillin and Gohan came back to take the single dragon ball they had managed to hide and informed Bulma that Goku was here and that he was going to team up with Vegeta to help them. Her heart had swelled, feeling an unusual amount of comfort just knowing Goku was on the planet with them.

She never got to see him, though, left alone again, fighting for her life as the planet seemed to break apart. She was sure her death was imminent, but Gohan showed up and said something about Goku fighting a freezer on his own and that they needed to get back to earth right away. But before they could even reach the ship, they were gone from the universe for a split second, only to reappear on earth, surrounded by namekians, including Piccolo, but among them was the saiyan, Vegeta.

Apparently, Goku died in Namek's explosion, but the namekian dragon balls would be used to bring him and the others still on King Kai's world back to life. So, a third of an earth year went by and the dragon balls were used to wish Krillin and Goku's souls to earth so that when they were brought back, they'd be on earth, rather than the empty space where Namek used to be. However, one of those souls could not be summoned, because Goku was still alive. They used the next wish to bring Krillin back to life, and then used the final wish to bring Goku to earth. But the dragon could not, because Goku _refused_.

Everyone had turned to look at Chi-Chi. She was stone-faced, had little reaction. The silence was telling.

So with the final wish, they brought Yamcha back to life, and during the next third of a year that went by, Bulma got back together with him. When the namekian dragon balls regained their power, they wished back Tien and Chaozu, and with the final wish, sent the namekians and their dragon balls to a new planet.

The final third of the year went by and Goku was still not home.

Bulma had been cooking kabobs on the grill when Vegeta, whom she had let stay at Capsule Corp., stood up suddenly, followed by Yamcha. They both looked to the sky and said they felt an evil power, and Vegeta recognized it as Freeza's. They took to the sky, with Yamcha telling Bulma to stay behind, but she didn't listen, she grabbed Pu'ar and they got into her Capsule plane to follow after them, despite being just a wee bit slower than them.

They arrived in a mountainous region and saw that the whole gang was there: Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu and Piccolo.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yamcha asked her when she got out of the plane, "This isn't a safe place!"

"I don't care," she said with a shrug, "I didn't get to see this guy the whole time I was on Namek. I'd at least like to see him before he blows up the planet."

"Don't talk like that, we're going to-"

"No," Vegeta said, his back turned. He peered over his shoulder at them, smirking, "She's right. This is the end of the earth."

Yamcha turned pale.

"Everyone shut up and suppress your powers, he's here!" Piccolo shouted, just before a humongous, disc shaped ship blew past overhead, slowing to a halt somewhere over the mountains before landing.

"I don't care if the earth is doomed," Tien said quietly, "I'm not gonna go out without a fight."

The others seemed to agree, but instead of flying in to battle, they decided stealth was their best option and they all walked. Bulma followed along.

As they walked, they were suddenly halted when the fighters sensed something. They said it was a new person confronting Freeza. Then, after a bit longer, they all gasped.

"It's dad!" Gohan said, "That's the same kind of power that dad had when he turned super saiyan!"

Bulma believed him wholeheartedly until the mystery super saiyan showed himself high in the sky, blowing Freeza away. It wasn't Goku. It was some kid who had golden hair. He was too far away to make out any real details, but it piqued everyone else's interest enough that they all took to the sky after him, with Yamcha plucking Bulma up off the ground to take her with.

When they arrived, the boy's hair was no longer golden or spiked upward; it hung down in a loose part, and was colored purple. He saw them and smiled before pointing off to his right.

"I'm going to go greet Son Goku over there," he said, "You're all welcome to join me!"

He took to the sky and everyone followed after, despite being unsure about him. Tien and Gohan reasoned that he took down Freeza, so they should at least give him a chance.

The mysterious youth was friendly enough, but he wouldn't give out his name or where he was from or how he knew Goku. All he could say was that he was seventeen years old. Bulma found it odd, though, considering the kid had a Capsule case containing a capsule fridge that she wasn't even sure was on the market, and his jean jacket had a Capsule Corp. logo on it, which also wasn't on the market. She almost thought he looked a little like her father when he was younger, due to his hair color, but refused to believe he was the result of an affair, after all, there was no one on earth her father could have made a baby with that would pass down super saiyan powers.

Mysterious or not, the kid was right. A spacepod crash landed nearby, opening up to reveal Goku, dressed in some alien getup. He seemed awfully confused about all of them being there, but when they explained the kid had told them where he'd be, he still seemed just as confused. He had no idea who the kid was.

Before they could have a chance to catch up with Goku, the kid asked to speak with Goku alone.

They walked off quite a distance and they both turned super saiyan. It was the strangest thing that Bulma had ever seen. Goku had natural black hair, and suddenly it was spiked upward fiercely, golden and shiny. It was almost exciting until the kid attacked him with his sword. But Goku blocked each thrust with a single finger and the two powered down and the kid sheathed his sword and the two talked for several minutes. At one point during the conversation, Goku seemed to freak out and looked over at the group.

The kid eventually left and Goku came back over. What he had to say was mindboggling.

He said the kid was from the future and that he said that everyone would die in three years in a battle with the androids, but because the kid came to the past, they have a chance to train and win. Everyone was skeptical, until the kid reappeared above them, in a strange vehicle none of them had ever seen. He waved and vanished along with the vehicle.

Afterward, they all discussed the coming battle with the androids, but Bulma suggested they use the dragon balls to figure out where the creator of the androids, Dr. Gero, was now and beat him up before he had a chance to make them. But, of course, Goku and Vegeta were opposed to this idea, craving a good fight. Krillin conceded as well, saying that only through common enemies did they all come to be friends. It was a moving speech until he leaned in close to whisper to Bulma: "Sure, Piccolo is okay now, but what about Vegeta? We need this to keep him on our side."

They all agreed to meet on an island south-west of South City where the androids were said to arrive. Before they left, though, Goku said the most puzzling thing to Bulma.

"Take care of the baby!" he had said before blasting off.

Krillin looked over at Bulma, "You pregnant?"

She shook her head, "Hell no. What planet is he on?"

Yamcha, however, chuckled, "Oh man, that Goku is so sly. I know what he's saying. He wants us to settle down and start a family."

Bulma doubted that. She said her goodbye to Krillin as everyone else took off, and she and Yamcha went back to Capsule Corp.

* * *

Of course, Yamcha left to go train, saying he was going to go train with Krillin at the Kame house. Bulma just let him, having little fight left in her. _Honestly, you complain so much when Yamcha leaves and yet you had a crush on Goku?_ she thought, _you don't think that would be worse?_ She barely had to think about it before realizing she'd expect that sort of thing from Goku. Yamcha wasn't nearly as battle hungry as the saiyan, and wasn't nearly as ignorant to the social needs of people. There was no excuse for him.

She wandered through the halls of Capsule Corp. heading to the elevator on the main floor, her mind on everything that had happened earlier that day; the return of Freeza, the strange kid from the future and Goku's bizarre comment about her taking care of the baby. What had that been about?

She reached the elevator and thumbed the 'up' button. It was on the top floor, so it would be a while before the elevator reached the main floor. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she waited.

A shirtless Vegeta, his muscled body scarred from battle, made his way through the lobby heading toward the doors. He glanced at Bulma.

Seeing this, she huffed and asked: "Where are you off to?"

"I'm going out to train in the ship," he said, "Kakarrot trained under intense gravity, so I will do the same."

"Ah, training. So I guess you're going to leave just like the other men in my life?"

Vegeta snorted and smirked, "Not every man," he cocked his head toward the door, "Seems you've got company."

Bulma watched as the saiyan prince turned and started out the door and passed up someone coming in. It was Goku. He had a suitcase.

The elevator arrived in the lobby with a musical chime, the doors sliding open, but Bulma ignored it and went straight to Goku. She saw his face, saw it was confused and sad. She kept glancing at the suitcase but then met his eyes as she approached.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" she asked.

"Chi-Chi, uh," he said, pausing as he rubbed the back of his head. The confused look remained as he continued: "she kicked me out of the house. Said she was filing for divorce."

"Divorce?" Bulma practically shouted. She grabbed for his arm and held it in gentle hands, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure; she was yelling a whole bunch. She said I'm 'good for nothing' and that I'm a danger to Gohan. Said she decided this was best after the dragon told you guys I refused to come home."

Bulma had to admit to herself that it made sense. She didn't blame Chi-Chi at all for wanting out of this situation, but she had to understand how dense Goku was, that this was Goku's world. She saw it on his face that he didn't fully understand what was happening.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I mean, I guess. I've never seen Chi-Chi so mad, and Gohan seemed really upset. I'm not even sure what a divorce means."

Bulma sighed, "I'll tell you about it later, let's just get you settled into one of the rooms."

She grabbed his hand and took him into the elevator.

* * *

The room next to Bulma's had remained empty for years, so she thought it was an ideal place to get Goku settled in. He sat on the bed, his suitcase resting on the floor. His eyes held a soft sadness like Bulma had never seen on his face before. She sat beside him, her eyes never leaving him.

"Chi-Chi wants to end your marriage," Bulma said, attempting to explain it to him gently, but bluntly enough that he would understand it, "she doesn't want to be your wife anymore."

"Ah, yeah," he said, "she said that, and said it was because I put Gohan in danger and didn't even tell her I was leaving for Namek and refused to come home when the dragon asked. So divorce means Chi-Chi and I won't be married?"

"Right."

"Aw, man," Goku sighed and scratched the back of his head, "She was crying and stuff, but I don't know why she was so sad if she wanted me to go."

Bulma frowned at him, "Oh, you dummy. Chi-Chi loves you. She probably wanted you to fight for her, to argue and tell her that you wanted to stay. Don't you care about her?"

"Well, yeah," he said, "I care about her like I care about all you guys. Chi-Chi is really good at cooking and takes good care of Gohan, but if she isn't happy being married to me, then she shouldn't be married to me, right?"

"That's a difficult question… I mean, yeah, maybe, but I'm pretty sure she just wanted you to be around more. How often did you go off training while you were married?"

"All the time," he said simply, "She'd get so mad at me, but I told her that Yamcha did the same thing and that you didn't seem to care all that much."

Bulma went silent and for the first time in her life, she saw Goku pick up on a sign so subtle.

"You do care, huh?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I care a lot. I hate it when he abandons me to go train."

"Oh, man, I feel awful about this whole thing. I didn't wanna hurt Chi-Chi, but I can't help it, Bulma. I need to get stronger. It's just something I need to do. When I was fighting Freeza a year ago, I was so excited, he was so tough. Even as a super saiyan I was still having a pretty hard time fighting him. If I'm not fighting or training, I'm not myself. It feels weird."

"I understand that," Bulma said and took his hand, squeezing it, "I've always understood that. But Chi-Chi doesn't. She doesn't know you like I know you. She wants an ideal husband, and that's not something you can be."

"Then maybe this is a good thing," he said, "maybe she'll find a good husband, and I'll be able to keep training."

Bulma sighed and smiled, shaking her head. He was so incredibly dense, but she knew he had pure intentions. "Yeah, maybe it is a good thing. Either way, it's happening. I just hope you both can find happiness."

"Thanks, and thanks for letting me stay here," he smiled.

"Of course," she squeezed his hand again before releasing it. She stood up and went to the door, "I'm gonna go to my room, it's right next door, so if you need anything you know where to go."

She went out and shut the door behind her. She let out a sigh and started for her room. What the hell was happening? Goku was actually going to get a divorce and he was staying at her place. She didn't know whether or not this was the worst or best timing. Her feelings for Goku had been on and off since the World Tournament, and now that he was here, readying to split from his wife, how strong would those feelings be now? But could he ever feel about her the way she felt about him? That was far too difficult to think about.


End file.
